Closer Than Yesterday
by carolinagirl919
Summary: After Amelia reveals to Ginny that she and Mike are dating, the budding friendship between Mike and Ginny begins to change. And not for the better.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I've decided to give Pitch fic a try. I haven't written anything in months and Bawson has sort of brought me back to writing. I hope you all enjoy. Story not beta'd. Apologies for any errors.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch or its characters.**

* * *

It's no question that Ginny Baker is a beautiful woman. A blind man could see that. In her uniform with her curly hair pulled back and nothing on her face but sweat and a look of determination, or in her workout clothes, she would always be an attractive woman. On Jimmy Kimmel, she glowed in a modest pink dress with tamed curls. But tonight, she's breathtaking.

Unruly curls pinned up to show off her elegant neck. Light makeup enhancing her beauty and a light gloss on her full pouty lips. And the dress.

That dress.

She was a siren in red.

Mike willed himself not to ogle her, and he was sure he'd managed to do that... at least he hoped. His teammate had just walked into the room and commanded the attention of everyone present with little effort. She'd just landed a huge endorsement deal with Nike, and tonight's big event was a kickoff to their promotional push featuring her.

Only two months had passed since Ginny's debut in the big leagues and not only had she found steady footing among the team in the clubhouse (and survived the trading deadline), she already knew how to work a room full of media types and big wigs. If only she'd work her way to his side of the ballroom. Mike felt as if Ginny had been avoiding him for the past couple weeks. Maybe avoiding wasn't the right word. They still worked out together (For the most part, if Duarte or Blip wasn't there). Still had their late night phone calls (Which seemed to end earlier and most of the time left him cold).

Nothing had changed, but it felt different. It felt as if she was slowly distancing herself from him, putting up a wall, brick by brick.

They still joked around, but her laughter felt forced. Her smiles lately, were not as genuine– only one dimple instead of the two. And her eyes, usually warm and inviting, were mostly cool and distant. The same look was in her eyes tonight as he approached her, not even realizing that he was headed her way until he was close enough to smell her perfume.

Light and floral with a touch of citrus.

"Hey Rookie, you clean up nice. Glad you didn't show up in tights and a sports bra," he teased, making an incredible effort to keep his eyes on hers and not on the generous amount of cleavage on display due to the cut of her dress.

"I'd say the same for you, Old Man, but I see the furry animal living on your face continues to make an appearance," she shot back with a smirk.

"You love the beard."

She laughs and he thinks it's genuine. Maybe it's all in his head. Nothing's changed.

"So I hear more congratulations are in order."

"About..." she looks at him, questioning.

"The Cover Girl deal," he answers with a grin. "Come on, Baker, let me get you a drink." He reaches for her to guide her to the bar, but she steps back slightly.

"That hasn't been announced yet... how'd you know about– oh...right." Her face seems to fall a bit before she shakes her head and smiles, brightly insincere, and it doesn't meet her eyes. She looks around and spots Evelyn and Blip waving her over. "I see they've got a table already. I'm gonna give my feet a break in these heels. Can I take a rain check on that drink?"

"You calling me off again, Baker?" He lets it slide, wanting to confront her about her behavior, but not here. Tonight was her night and it could wait. "Yeah, Rook. Go rest your feet. I'll bring ya a beer later."

If she had on sneakers, he was sure her departure would have been even more abrupt as she tossed a careless "Thanks" over her shoulder while heading in the opposite direction.

They'd talk later, he decided. Obviously, she wanted space and he'd give her that. They would hash this out and get back on track. However, he couldn't quell this feeling of unease. He couldn't shake the feeling that things had shifted and it was gonna take a long time to get back where they were.

* * *

"Thanks for the save," Ginny muttered to Evelyn as she takes a seat at the table.

"No problem. But I think you should just talk about it instead of this going through this whole passive aggressive, avoidance plan you're going with. It's not gonna work."

"What?!" Ginny lowers her voice after noticing a few eyes drawn to her. "I'm not being passive aggressive. I just need a little space to deal with it and get over it."

"Like with your mom?" she asked, looking at Ginny pointedly. "Just talk to them both and tell them how you really feel about it and be done with it." Evelyn manages to pluck two flutes of champagne from a tray carried by a passing waiter and gives one to Ginny. "Here, drink this. You look way too tense right now Gin. Is that mystery man of yours coming?" she asked, changing the subject to the benefit of them both.

Ginny is thankful for the switch of topic, although not so appreciative of the words before it. She knows she needs to talk to Amelia and Mike about it and let them know how she feels, but right now she doesn't want to think about that. She doesn't want to think about her trust in them being broken because they thought she couldn't handle them being... whatever it was they were. Dating, fuck buddies, whatever. She wasn't a child.

The idea of the two of them together having pillow talk with her as a topic of discussion... She takes a sip of champagne to ward off those thoughts. Did it irritate her? Yes, but she would have gotten over it... eventually. As a matter of fact, she had been in the process of getting over it for a while now.

She takes another sip, enjoying the feel of the cool bubbles on her tongue. She wasn't necessarily a fan of champagne, she had always been more of a margarita girl– a taste she'd acquired during her stint in Texas– but this would have to do for now. She wants something stronger, but doesn't want to use alcohol as a distraction. But speaking of distractions...

"He sent me a text. Said he's stuck in traffic and he'd be here soon." She shook her head and grinned as what Evelyn said finally registered. "And he's not a mystery man. I told you his name is Jordan and I've known him for a long time."

"Well, until I see this guy in the flesh and he's able to pass the vetting process with me and Blip, he's "Mystery Guy" to me." Evelyn shot back with a grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled before finishing the rest of her champagne in one huge gulp.


	2. Chapter 2

_Three days prior..._

Jordan Collins.

He was the reason Ginny didn't date ballplayers. Not Trevor Davis. Trevor was the exception to that rule. But Jordan Collins was the fucking catalyst.

They had never dated. The first day they met she had told him she didn't make a habit of dating her teammates. He'd surprised her when he replied with a quip of his own, reiterating the same. But he offered her something she hadn't expected: friendship.

Their relationship was strictly platonic, but sometimes she would wonder what if. When they would watch old episodes of _In Living Color_ in the den of her parents' house, goofily sing along to Katy Perry, or share too many laughs and secrets to even count, she sometimes couldn't help but to wonder if they could ever be more than friends. She never dwelled on it because she didn't want to mess up what they'd had. He was her first true friend.

And with how their friendship had ended... She had lost two very important people in her life that fateful night. She remembered how cold and lonely she had felt, watching Jordan climb into the moving truck. Having to leave another city because of his father, but this time without him.

He didn't say a word to her. What could he say? Did she even want to hear it? She didn't know. She just knew that it hurt. And she never wanted to feel that kind of hurt ever again.

So she had dug in her heels and decided to focus on baseball. Goodbye full athletic scholarship to NC State and hello winter league in Myrtle Beach before her five year stint in the minors. She had nothing but her and her father's dream of making the big leagues and she wouldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of that. She absolutely positively would not get too close emotionally to a ball player to even consider dating him, much less get romantically involved with him. She should have learned her lesson from Trevor, but now she was getting one hell of a refresher from her budding friendship with Lawson.

Mike fucking Lawson. How had she managed to let her guard down? She should have known better, but she was tired. Tired of hiding and holding up an emotional wall. It felt nice to have someone to laugh and joke with. To get to know someone without any pretense and be able to open up, even a little bit. She was getting used to the routine. Morning workouts, practice, press conferences, games, dugout convos, bus rides, viewing tape and discussing game plans... the late night phone calls. She refrained from outwardly sighing.

Just when she was starting to settle into this new normal, the rug had been pulled from under her and the hits just keep coming.

It had been a week after finding out about Amelia and Mike. Ginny thought she was handling it well enough, but she really needed a break from having to pretend that everything was okay. Everything wasn't okay. After losing an almost friend in Tommy after the trade, embarrassing herself in front of Oscar like some silly Hollywood starlet (which was horrible advice that she should have never taken from Amelia), and the Padres losing a three game series sweep against the Giants— this was the last fucking thing she needed. Ginny was not emotionally prepared to deal with the unresolved hurt and trauma of her past looking at her with a hesitant smile and long lingering feelings of guilt in his eyes.

Nope. She did _not_ want to deal with this right now.

They'd obviously lost touch after he moved away. She knew he'd moved around a lot, but she never would have thought that she'd run into him here, in L.A. of all places.

And now he's sitting across the table from her in the conference room of the Nike corporate office in Los Angeles. He looks good. Put on some weight, no longer the lanky teenager she once knew. His blond hair was cut much shorter than she remembered. She'd barely paid much attention to the meeting, thankful for Amelia being there to talk through negotiations. Ginny was distracted by the knowing look in Jordan's blue eyes. Always as expressive as they ever were, the message was clear.

 _We'll talk later._

She wasn't sure if she even wanted to talk to him. Later or ever. Sometimes it was best to leave the past in the past.

* * *

"Ginny are you okay? You've barely said a word the entire time." Amelia looked at her with concern.

They had taken a fifteen minute break for refreshments before discussing what the media push would be. They had already talked numbers prior to this meeting. Genevieve "Ginny" Baker, one of the most (if not the most) famous female athletes in the world, was about to have a net worth in the eight figure range. With this marketing push, Ginny would be the new face of Nike, becoming the biggest brand that Amelia always knew she could be.

Yet, here she was. Quiet. Pensive even. As if she'd rather be anywhere but here.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired from the drive up here is all. I'm gonna grab a muffin or something," she replied almost robotically before walking off, making her way to the long table loaded with breakfast foods, coffee, tea, and juices.

Amelia would be foolish to say she hadn't noticed a slight change in her client. Her job was knowing how to read people. And Ginny, while great at closing people off, had an open honesty to her personality that made her easy to read. Lately that hasn't been the case. She had been "acting" the same, but something was off. Ginny was slowly distancing herself and treating her as she had when their working relationship first started, with a polite emotional distance.

Ever since she'd told Ginny about her relationship (could she even call it a relationship?) with Mike, nothing had really changed on the surface. The smiles were there and the jokes were there, but what Amelia now noticed is that Ginny usually only spoke to her when spoken to, and it was always about business. The warmth in their interactions was nearly gone and the camaraderie they'd built to go from agent/client to agent friend/client friend, wasn't taking a nosedive– it was a smooth, slow descent, like the beginnings of a landing after a long flight.

However, Amelia had been guilty of over analyzing things before and ignored her gut. If Ginny said she was fine and didn't really act any differently, then she was fine. Ginny was fine. They were fine. Everything was fine.

 _Keep telling yourself that_ , her conscience retorted.

Amelia shook off those thoughts and brought her attention back to the present. She eyed the blond haired man who had been openly staring at Ginny since they'd walked in, make his way to refreshments table. Amelia had noticed the looks Ginny had been exchanging with the young man, but wasn't sure what the story was there.

Did they know each other? Her gut told her there was _something_ between the two, but she couldn't put a finger on it. It didn't read like a relationship gone bad. Amelia could spot a bitter ex from a mile away. What she _did_ read coming from them both was regret. Maybe even... longing?

Interesting. She would file that tidbit of information later. But for now, she needed to get out of her head and out of her feelings. The last thing either woman needed was a distraction. And the way this guy stood so very close to Ginny, with a certain level of familiarity, Amelia knew he could be a distraction her client didn't need.

She watched with shrewd eyes as the blond led Ginny out of the conference room. Turning her attention to the women chatting nearby, she interrupted their conversation with a brief inquiry.

"I'm sorry for the interruption ladies, but what was the name of the gentleman who just left? John, James..."

"Jordan," one of the women answered. "Jordan Collins. He's great. Young, but very creative. You're gonna love what he's come up with for Ginny's ad campaign."

"Oh, I just bet," Amelia muttered.

* * *

They took a seat on one of the benches spread throughout the large atrium in the center of the building. With a large skylight and indoor garden with lush greenery, it felt like a small escape from the usual office bustle. They sat there for a while, the silence growing more awkward by the minute.

"Gin..." he began, unsure of how or even where to start.

"Jordan," she replied, looking at him expectantly.

He still found it difficult to meet her eyes. It had been six years and the guilt and shame still weighed heavily on him. He looked down at the styrofoam cup of coffee in his hands.

"I'm really happy for you, ya know. I always knew you were gonna do great things. Bigger than anyone expected."

"Thanks."

He looked up and saw that she was picking at her muffin. "Sorry they didn't have any chocolate chip muffins– if that's still your favorite."

"I can't believe you still remember that." She ceased picking at the bran muffin before looking at him, meeting his eyes.

"You're not an easy person to forget, though I guess you did manage to forget all about me." Jordan smiled weakly, hoping a joke would somehow break the tension.

Ginny tried to smile but it fell short. "I never forgot about you Jordan. It's... it's been a pretty lonely road getting here. And while I've managed to meet a few amazing people, there were times where I really could have used a friend. Still do."

More silence settled between them, less awkward than before.

"I'm sorry... about everything." He couldn't look at her, choosing to stare at the plants off in the distance.

"It wasn't your fault, Jordan. I... I didn't just lose a parent that night."

"I still regret not saying goodbye to you. I didn't expect to see you. Didn't think you'd even want to see me ever again. I felt so guilty. I know how close you were to your dad, and it was my dad who took that away from you. I just... I wish things had been different." He turned to her, eyes reddened from holding back tears.

"Me too, Jordan. Me too," she replied, looking back at him, a single tear running down the side of her face. She quickly wiped it away.

"You said you could have used a friend. Could _still_ use a friend. Do you think maybe," he sighed and gathered up the last bit of courage he could muster, "maybe we could start over?"

Ginny sat wordlessly as she mulled over how to respond. She didn't have anything to lose at this point, and she couldn't lie and say that it was nice to be able to reconnect with him. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and opened her contacts. "What's your number? Maybe we can, I dunno, grab a coffee or something."

He recited his phone number and as she keyed it in, she came to a slow realization. "I know it's been like six years but this number looks awfully familiar... Is this the–nah, can't be– is it? Is it the same number from all that time ago?" She looked at him in disbelief.

"You know I moved around a lot, Ginny. Keeping my number was the one thing I could control. The one thing that didn't have to change. The one way anyone could keep in touch with me if they tried..."

His sentence trailed off there, the implication clear. More silence settled between them, this time not nearly as uncomfortable. The quiet of the atrium only broken by the sound of high heels tapping against the tiled flooring.

"Ginny," Amelia called out before coming into view. "The fifteen minutes is about up. Let's get this meeting done and the paperwork signed so we can get you back to San Diego in time for tonight's game."

"Yeah, okay I'm coming Amelia," Ginny said, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. When she realized that Amelia had not moved and would not leave without her, she stood from the bench. "I guess that's my cue to leave."

Jordan stood as well. "I guess it is. We'll talk later, right?"

"Right." She wanted to smile but kept her face neutral. He nodded, keeping his face a blank mask, easily taking cues from her. The last thing she needed was Amelia grilling her to the 12th degree about him and how they knew each other.

He led them back to the conference room to finish the meeting.


End file.
